


Cavalry of Spoons

by edy



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Depression, Established Relationship, M/M, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 09:46:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16595519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edy/pseuds/edy
Summary: "Oh, I left the forks on the kitchen counter," Tyler sighs, both hands shoved deep into the wicker basket.





	Cavalry of Spoons

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: picnic in the park
> 
> -
> 
> my friends and i made up this writing game where we give out prompts, submit our answers anonymously, and then try to guess who wrote which response. sometimes i was obvious, and sometimes i did my best to masquerade myself. 
> 
> the next few works i post will be these ficlets. i'd love to continue and expand some of the ideas, but i'm afraid these small offerings will be all i have to share for the time being.
> 
> [mars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsakat/pseuds/marsakat) named this one :-)

"Oh, I left the forks on the kitchen counter," Tyler sighs, both hands shoved deep into the wicker basket. He's focused on looking down, on looking into the dark abyss that is this basket and not even so much as a glance up at Josh. Getting reassured that everything is okay isn't really Tyler's style, especially not now. Tyler stares into this abyss and feels the abyss staring back at him. It's haunting, and it feels a little like he belongs here.

Josh's hands shove their way into the basket. It's a tight squeeze, given the large size of Josh's hands, and when Josh fans out his fingers in order to completely cover Tyler's own hands, the food Tyler neatly stacked inside threatens to launch itself into the cloudy sky above.

"Hey," Josh says, low and quick and with his eyebrows raising up his forehead and into his baseball cap. "Forgetting forks… is not the end of the world. It's okay, Tyler."

"I have spoons," Tyler says, fingers curling against them. Josh's hands are warm on top of his. For once in his life, the heat is unbearable, and when he yanks his hands free of the basket, spoons in hand, he attempts a smile to make Josh think he's thrilled at the prospect of bringing along some sort of silverware.

And Josh, he smiles, too, and he takes a spoon and remarks, "This is good! We can have a race to see who finishes their salad first." Quietly, arms lowering to press his elbows on his knees, Josh leans forward, mindful of the children and other picnickers nearby, and whispers, "How many spoons do you have?"

"Why, Josh, I have three now, since you took one," Tyler says, and smiles genuinely now. He shows Josh his spoons and carefully sets them on their traditional red-and-white checkered blanket. All the same size, all with the same dish-soap residue, Tyler lines them up like little army men and stifles a sudden sob into the crook of his arm. He tries to pass it off as a sneeze, as him wiping his nose on the sleeve of his flannel, but Josh can read him exactly as Tyler needs him to, and Josh picks himself up and crab-walks his way to sit on Tyler's right.

Next to the cavalry of spoons, Josh places the one he took among them. It's perfect placement. Tyler's face is now in his hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me," Tyler says into his palms.  

Josh rubs the small of Tyler's back before diving into the basket. He pulls out the desserts first, and Tyler's face brightens between the cracks of his fingers. "How many spoons do you have?" Josh asks him again, and Tyler counts on his fingers with his eyes closed.

"Maybe four," he decides. "Maybe three."

"That's okay." Josh bumps a half of a chocolate chip cookie to Tyler's lips. Eyes open, eyes on Josh, Tyler eases the cookie from Josh's fingers and bites. He chews. He swallows. He feels better.

Josh kisses the crumbs from his lips and cups his cheek. Slowly, Josh strokes the pink on Tyler's cheek and says, as bright as the sun coming through the clouds, "We'll go home after this, and you can go straight to bed, and so that way, you'll have extra spoons for tomorrow. Do you like that idea?"

And for once, Tyler's stomach doesn't hurt. He nods, smiling, and Josh smiles with him. He kisses Tyler's mouth again and, before returning to their food, takes off his hat. He keeps it on his lap, tucked between his legs, and Tyler only allows himself one rub along the buzz cut. This helps him feel better, too. He smiles more.

"Here," Josh says, lips curled up at the edges with glee. He passes Tyler a salad and one of the army-men spoons. "I'm not going to go easy on you."

Tyler snatches both, grinning mischievously. "Wouldn't even dream of it."


End file.
